A Conversation with Nancy*

Nancy* and her three children moved into Alpha House in April. She moved
out of Alpha House into a home in Ypsilanti during the first part of
August. We caught up with Nancy before she’d finished unpacking.

What do you think about your new place?

Nancy: Oh, I love it. The bedrooms are huge. It has three bedrooms, a whole bath, a half bath, and a basement. I’m getting some furniture from the Recycle Center, some donations from volunteers. Somebody even drove a long way to bring me a washer and dryer.

How far away from your new home is the school where your children attend?

Nancy: Sam* is in the 1st first grade and Eric* is in 5th. They both go to the same school, different hallways. It’s a 10-minute walk from our new place. Sandra* will be at the high school.

Looking back, what did you like about staying at Alpha House?

Nancy: You get a lot of help there. Mostly I liked the help they gave me planning my budget, and being able to save money. There’s always someone to talk to about problems.

Overall, do you think the staff at Alpha House were helpful?

Nancy: Yes, some more than others. Alan will push you to get things done. He pushes your buttons to get you motivated. Sometimes Latania is there at 3:00 AM. When you need her, she’ll be there. I think Wraparound really helped me. [Wraparound is the program where a "team" meets with the resident once a week to talk about their family’s goals and future
plans.]

So what did you think about Family Wraparound?

Nancy: It helped out a lot. You can sit there in your group and you can talk about your goals and what you want to do when you get out. You have a plan and it’s all written down. You work on it. You meet every week and you come up with new goals.

What came out of Family Wraparound for you?

Nancy: I got my car.

What kind of car?

Nancy: A ’94 Pontiac Sunbird. It runs like a baby. It’s good on gas mileage, and I got a good deal.

Is there anything else that was really helpful to you at Alpha House?

Nancy: People helped me a lot when my youngest child [Sam (5)] went into the hospital. He had an infection. He got high fevers. His blood count was high, and he ended up not being able to walk. He was in a lot of pain. He was in and out of the hospital for four to six weeks.

What kind of support did you get during Sam’s illness?

Nancy: Mostly help with transportation. They let me stay at the hospital as long as needed. The staff came to visit. Sometimes the staff and volunteers looked out for the older kids while I was gone. After Sam got out of the hospital, sometimes the volunteers would say “Go lay down,” and they’d watch Sam for me. Also during that time there was a guy who helped me locate tires for my car.

Is Sam OK now?

Nancy: Yeah. You can’t even tell he was there [in the hospital].

I know living at Alpha House wasn’t always easy. What was the hardest part about living there?

Nancy: Mostly the hard part was dealing with other families. Sometimes you have to listen to them argue with each other, which bugged me. The food was good—at least most of it. I like really spicy food, and the food there is tamer for kids. They had some really good meatloaf and pasta casserole. The kids loved it when there was pizza.

How are you feeling about life in general now?

Nancy: Really good. I'm glad to be on my own. But I want to change employment and get a job that isn’t working midnights and doesn’t have me on my feet eight hours a day, which aggravates the problems I have with my feet.

So, what are your plans?

Nancy: I plan to go to a training program and I’m thinking about getting my CDL. It’s a license to drive a truck. I’d like a local truck route. Or, I might get a job as a receptionist. Some of the staff at Alpha House and my boyfriend think I’m really good with people. As soon as I get unpacked and get all my furniture, I’m having a party.

Who’s invited?

Nancy: Some of the staff and some of my new neighbors.

*Names of the family have been changed to respect their privacy.